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Berserker's real identity is Sir Lancelot (サー・ランスロット,Sā・Ransurotto?), also known as the Knight of the Lake (湖の騎士,Mizūmi no kishi?), the person serving as a negative symbol of the Arthurian legend.[4] He was extremely loyal to King Arthur as one of the Knights of the Round Table. He had many famous exploits, including once hiding his name and disguising himself to enter a horse race for the sake of a friend’s honor. Even after falling into a trap and being forced to face the enemy's blades with only his bare hands, he had proved victorious with his skilled fighting prowess using only an elm branch.

Lancelot's downfall began when he fell in love with Artoria's queen, Guinevere.[5] The tragic love story of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and Grainne later became the story model of Guinevere and Lancelot.[6] Though the king was actually a woman, she had married in order to maintain the pretense that she was a man and the image of a stable royal family. Guinevere, in turn, willingly sacrificed her own life as a woman in order to preserve this ideal government.

When Lancelot and the queen began their affair, the Knight of the Lake considered fleeing Camelot with her, but his loyalty to Artoria and his sense of duty prevented him from doing so. When political enemies of the king exposed the affair, the queen was ordered to be executed. Left with no other choice, Lancelot attempted to save her, killing several of his fellow knights including Gawain's brothers, Gareth and Gaheris, in the process.

Lancelot, who was considered the perfect knight, Guinevere, the queen who had made her beloved betray his duty, and Artoria, the king who blamed herself for her loyal knight's despair, all suffered from the resulting fallout. Although Artoria forgave Lancelot's actions, Gawain still bore great hatred towards Lancelot for his betrayal and the death of his brothers.

His disloyalty had fractured the balance within the Knights of the Round Table. This incident eventually became the trigger of civil war and carnage, and the country shattered to pieces in the flames of war.[4] Lancelot, even after being excommunicated, wanted to participate the Battle of Camlann to serve his King but Gawain hostilely rejected him which resulted in the downfall of his King and country. When Lancelot heard the news of his King, Lancelot sank in despair and escape through madness thus, when he became a Heroic Spirit, he was summoned as the insane Berserker.

Berserker is a robust man fully clad in pitch-black armor and a rustic helmet with a thinly carved slit displaying the ghastly glow of his eyes. The armor is the work of the delicate and nuanced workmanship of its smith's utmost effort, succeeding in granting it an air of formidability and a fine construction. It is a perfect armor that can be called neither exquisite nor crude, and it instead perfectly melds magnificence and functionality. It is carved with countless marks and scratches, the highlights of his various military exploits etched into it to add a touch of valor. It is an ideal battle outfit that all knights could not help but envy.[7]

During life, he was an ideal incarnation embodying the true face of a "knight." Having lost his distinguished dignity of the past, he has been thoroughly changed by his descent into madness. Mad Enhancement and his anger have corroded him into his pitch-black form. He has a blackened face, the visage of a living dead man who has lost everything to a curse. He had a beautiful visage capable of drawing the admiration of many women, but his hatred has made him gaunt and pallid like a phantom. The only part of him filled with light is his eyes that are filled with hatred.[7] He retains his normal appearance while not under the effects of Mad Enhancement.

Due to For Someone's Glory, the identifying marks of his armor are hidden, only revealing the fact that he is fully clad in armor without any opening. It shows no ornaments or polished luster like that of Saber or Gilgamesh. Blurring the characteristic features and clues on the lineage of the maker, it makes him look like a "shadow", a bottomless black darkness like Hell. Once the ability is removed, the armor is easily identified as that of Lancelot. He lacks the radiance of Heroic Spirits, the "shine" that is the expression of their pride. There is no sign of the honor of his legend, the essential element of Noble Phantasms. This makes him closer to Assassin in nature, holding a "negative surge" like a vengeful spirit rather than a Heroic Spirit.[8]

"I am the alienated, the ridiculed, the despised. No need to praise my name. No need to envy my body. I am the shadow under the radiance of heroic spirits. Birthed of the darkness of glorious legend. And so, I hate, I resent. Nourished by the sighs of the people precipitated within the darkness, people that curse the light. This is my disgrace. Because of her unsullied glory, I must forever be belittled. You are, the sacrifice. Good, give me more, your blood and flesh, your life. Let them ignite my hatred—!!"
—Berserker to Kariya

As Berserker, his mind is under the effects of Mad Enhancement, limiting his rationality and ability to think. He gives off nothing but murderous intent and the thirst for blood, his deep hatred radiating out from him enough that he can easily be sensed even when he is hidden. He is able to battle with finesse due to his martial prowess, and he shows the ability to recognize that Lancer has been ordered to help him and take him as an ally for a short time. He still recognizes his King, instantly becoming hostile towards her and forgoing any orders in order to fight her.[5] He growls parts of her name, a moan full of malice hardly resembling human speech.

Lancelot was known to have extreme loyalty to his King during life as one of the people she considered to be a friend. She believes, even after their armies had clashed, that their hearts should still be the same, as a subject upholding the way of the knight and a king upholding the way of the knight. Saber is shocked in his ability to manifest as Berserker, that he who was the subject of people’s admiration could be reduced to that state. She cannot help but think their eternal partnership was nothing but a naive fantasy onto which she had clung upon seeing him in that state.

In one sense, he can be said to be a victim of Saber's righteousness.[9] Saber believes the root of it to stem from her hiding her gender. Seeking punishment for his actions, he was forgiven by the one person who he desired it from the most. The wretchedness he felt from that simple act was overwhelming for him. His guilt weighed down on him the more he adored his king, so his only salvation became to personally bring about her downfall. The atrocities he committed were of an insane and irritable young man, but ultimately driven by his overwhelming love for his king. He hated that she could remain an ideal king even after learning about the affair, and lamented how his king sacrificed herself for the sake of her country.

Berserker's armor was designed by Hirokazu Koyama. He was told to give Berserker the appearance of a dark hero with a "bucket with a slit in it" for the helmet. He gave him a massive outer appearance, and utilized various parts similar to Saber's armor to assemble it. Only the slit in the helmet remained from the original design order, and just from the outline of the head, it is a rather simple silhouette that still manages to carry the impression of the armor. Within the discarded designs, there was a period where the slit featured a more eye-like design.

His original feel for the character was one of a great gap between his thin, weak looking appearance and amazing power and speed. The design of the back of the armor was added on afterwards, but fit in unexpectedly well. Takashi Takeuchi was surprised Koyama made such a complex design from the simple instruction of a "Bucket Helmet", and thought "This sort of design must be pretty valuable." Gen Urobuchi also wondered how such a design would end up looking good, imagining a "slit-like eyepiece" like what was used in the final design.

Takeuchi designed Lancelot's face easily, thinking "This guy is so unlucky!" while drawing him. The difference in his facial features between his living form and that under Mad Enhancement is like the difference between an ibis and an amoeba. The expression Lancelot makes next to Bedivere, like that of someone being punished for doing something wrong, makes Takeuchi tear up when looking at it. Urobuchi feels Lancelot is more beautiful as a handsome man with a shady past rather than an unrestrained playboy.[2]

The scene with Berserker fighting Gilgamesh with a fighter jet was planned from the start, so Urobuchi worked towards making it. He especially wanted an "Itano Circus", a unwieldy and unnecessarily large amount of missiles that will not even hit properly based on Ichiro Itano's work in Macross, from Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.[10]

The anime version has heavily revised the Berserker's flashback scenes. Gen Urobuchi explains that the sudden change from the battle to a flashback would make the audience lose tension from the inconsistent timeline.[11] Atsushi Ikariya was in charge of the character design for the anime version. Masato Takizawa was the 3DCG Supervisor. He explains that he had to tweak parts like warping and altering the scale so Berserker's movements wouldn't look like stiff CG animation.[5]

Berserker is summoned by Kariya Matou in the 4th Holy Grail War. Zouken Matou, deciding that Kariya was too lacking as a Mage, compensated by forcing him to obtain a Servant from the most powerful of the seven classes - namely the Servant of Mad Enhancement, Berserker. Until his identity was revealed, he was known simply as the Black Knight.

During the War's first battle between the Servants, Lancer strikes Saber with Gáe Buidhe and attempts to finish her off, but their fight is interrupted by Iskander. In the ensuing chaos, both Archer and Berserker arrive and engage one another in battle. They are evenly matched, with weapons of Archer's Gate of Babylon being caught and effectively wielded by Berserker to deflect any other weapons thrown at him.

Archer is forced by his Master to retreat, but Kariya, unable to control his Servant any longer, is unable to order Berserker to do the same. As a result, Berserker turns his attention to the injured Saber, but is stalled by Lancer's interference. However, Lancer's Master, Lord Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, decides that Saber is the greater threat, and uses a Command Spell to coerce his Servant into aiding Berserker. This order is quickly retracted when Iskander interferes again, attacking Berserker from behind and threatening to team up with Saber. Both Berserker and Lancer retreat soon after.

During the battle against Caster, Berserker takes control of an F-15 jet to use as his Noble Phantasm, and engages Archer in aerial combat at his Master's behest. Their fight is left unresolved when Berserker catches sight of Saber, and ignores Archer in favour of attacking the female Servant. He is defeated when Archer strikes him from behind with a barrage of Noble Phantasms. His Master, Kariya, is likewise defeated when he engages Tohsaka Tokiomi in combat.

Berserker is next sent out to kidnap Irisviel von Einzbern, in order to fulfill Kariya's end of a bargain with Kirei Kotomine. He uses his abilities to assume Rider's form, effectively fooling Saber and her Master into pursuing the wrong Servant. Saber engages the true Rider in battle, allowing Berserker to safely deliver Irisviel to his Master.

Lancelot under the Mad Enchantment

On the final day of the 4th Holy Grail War, Berserker engages Saber using submachine guns as his Noble Phantasm. (The anime depicts him with a Sniper Rifle and a Submachine Gun.) She manages to disarm him and damage his armour, but her killing blow is stopped short when Berserker deftly catches her blade between his hands. Saber realises that Berserker possesses knowledge of Excalibur's shape and length despite its invisibility, and deduces that he had known her when still alive. She demands that he reveal his true identity, to which Berserker responds by drawing his own sword, Arondight. His helmet finally shatters, revealing him to be Saber's old friend and greatest knight - Lancelot of the Lake.

Overcome by guilt of how she had contributed to his downfall in life, Saber loses her will to fight, and is brutally battered by Lancelot. She blocks one final blow from Berserker, expecting the next to be a killing strike, only to have him completely cease all movement. At the instant of his last blow, Berserker's Master, Kariya, had been completely drained of magical energy, effectively cutting off Berserker's source of power.

Berseker gets killed by Saber

Taking advantage of the situation, Saber drives Excalibur into the frozen Berserker, dealing him a mortal wound. She tearfully tells him that she had wished to win the Holy Grail to atone for her past mistakes, including her part in Lancelot's death.

Having regained his sanity, Berserker admits that he wished Saber had condemned him for his crimes, and demanded penance of him. Instead, her willingness to forgive him made it impossible for him to forgive himself. Berserker collapses into Saber's arms, sighing that, in the end, he would die in the bosom of his king, like a loyal and just knight. Unable to sustain his physical form any longer, Lancelot fades away and was the fifth servant to perish in the Fourth Grail War.

"You were the greatest amongst the kings. All who served you... believed thus."
—Lancelot last comments to Saber:

Lancelot appears in Einzbern Consultation Room, a metafiction segment analyzing the story, taking place after his death. He appears as his normal self rather than under Mad Enhancement, shocking Irisviel and Student No.0's expectations of the Berserker-class Servant. He is humble and well-mannered, ashamedly standing outside hesitating to enter due to the deeds he committed. Throughout the episode, he makes several remarks about his past and the Grail War, as well as more personal opinions (the most notable of which being that he prefers Saber over Guinievere). He also reveals that, upon his summoning, he came into contact with the Great Grail's corruption and thus he became familiar with the nature of the Grail.

Due to wishing for the Servants to be corrupted as a vessel for Angra Mainyu, Irisviel places a pot on his head to have him remember the darkness and slowly revert back to Berserker. He tries to warn Student No.0 about Irisviel's true nature, but ends up reverting to Berserker and leaves in madness, only to be absorbed by the Grail.

Berserker was born with numerous abilities and aptitudes that brought him to be famed as the strongest of the Knights of the Round Table. Rather than simply being "high-spec", he could be called "completely overpowered", displaying fighting prowess many times greater than even King Arthur and the ability to match Gawain until slaying him at nightfall. Due to his having often fell into madness in the incidents involving Guinevere, he has a great comparability with the Berserker class.[4] He is boosted by Mad Enhancement, giving him one rank in all stats besides Luck and Magical Energy. He loses the ability to speak and think complicatedly in exchange for the power, but still displays his great battle prowess. He has an extremely high rate of prana consumption as a Berserker, so it places great strain on Kariya to provide upkeep. While being of a normal class would have been better for Kariya, his increased parameters from being maddened are the only reason he is able to fight Gilgamesh as well as he manages.[12]

Constantly under the effects of Mad Enhancement, he is difficult to control in battle. While he will follow Kariya's general orders of targeting Gilgamesh, he will easily ignore them if he has another target he wishes to attack. Due to his connection with Saber, he immediately attacks her at any available point, and the only way to completely stop him is with a Command Spell. He uses a great deal of prana every time he acts, and combined with Kariya's fragile state of health, he brings his Master closer to death with each battle. He has low Magic Resistance granted by a ring amulet, but his madness drops the ability a rank. It can only somewhat reduce damage from magecraft instead of nullifying it. Protection of the Fairies grants him a blessing from the Elementals, the ability to call over luck in critical situations. Its activation is only limited to battlefields where it is possible to perform feats of arms.

While his armor has many defining marks that easily show his identity, he remains unidentified due to the Noble PhantasmFor Someone's Glory, a black fog that engulfs him to prevent others from discerning his identity by obscuring his figure and keeping enemy Masters from reading his abilities. The true nature of the ability would allow him to disguise himself as other Heroic Spirits, but the only way to use it as Berserker is to force him with a Command Spell.

Berserker shows incredibly adept technical skills in battle despite his madness due to Eternal Arms Mastership, allowing him to put to use all of his skills in weaponry despite not being capable of fully rational thought. His mastery of the combat arts is at the level where he was unrivaled within his era. Due to the complete unification of mind, body, and technique, he displays flawless fighting skill even under the influence of any sort of mental hindrance. Though he attacks ferociously like a beast, befitting his class, all his attacks are accurate and precise enough to push even the strongest Servants back, and he can perform seemingly impossible maneuvers normally requiring complex thought purely on instinct, surprising onlookers due to his nature as a mad warrior.

He mainly utilizes Knight of Honor in battle against other Servants for the duration of the Holy Grail War. He can make use of anything he classifies as a weapon, from telephone poles to the Noble Phantasms of others, as his own Noble Phantasm. He displays subtle and flawless technique, showing grandeur in using unfamiliar Noble Phantasms in repeated offensive and defensive maneuvers. Noble Phantasm are meant to be weapons for the exclusive usage of their owners, so another Heroic Spirit taking hold of one should not be able to wield it correctly. Knight of Honor allows him to easily wield Gilgamesh's weapons from the Gate of Babylon, and he is able to advance against his opponent without being forced back a single step or being damaged in any way.

He is used to the full extent of Saber's abilities, so he is able to utilize accurate and prudent battle tactics. He hunts her by continually giving chase without allowing her to retaliate so as to slowly strangle her. He remembers her sword, allowing him to predict the path of it even while it is sheathed in Invisible Air. He knows every detail from its shape to its length like the back of his hand. He draws his main Noble Phantasm, Arondight, a sister sword of Excalibur, upon facing her. It allows him to unleash his true ability, showing skill with the sword completely incomparable to his previous level. While Saber is easily pushed back due to her having become unable to fight properly, even her being able to fight against him normally may not be able to withstand the strong momentum behind his strikes. It multiplies his prana upkeep many times, finally reaching the limit of Kariya's Crest Worms and taking several hours worth of backup prana in ten seconds from his last charge.

Koyama's comment
I accepted an order that said to make him look like a dark hero and settled on giving him a massive outer appearance. It runs counter to expectations, but if you look at it closely, you should see that it is assembled from parts that are similar to Saber's armor. It is so complex that it would be hard to make a video game sprite, huh? If you could do it, make it 3-D from now on. Make it look gloriously three dimensional and whatnot. [Koyama]

Koyama's comment
The order was for a bucket with a slit in it, but right now only the slit remains. From the head alone, it is a rather simple silhouette, but it still carries an impression of the armor. In the discarded designs, there was also a phase where the design was more eye-like. [Koyama]

Koyama's comment
Initially, I imagined him as a character that had a great gap between his thin, weak-looking appearance and amazing power and speed. The black deign was tacked on later, but fit unexpectedly smoothly. Remember. the tentacles lie flat. [Koyama]

Initial design
I was taught the heel looks like it's floating a little.

Comment for LancelotTakeuchi: Koyama was responsible for the armor's design. Because he drew it in a very complex form, I thought it was something like "This sort of design picture must be pretty valuable." I did not think he would develop so much from the original instruction of "Bucket Helmet"! (laugh)Urobuchi: That was a pretty irresponsible order, hu-uh? I kept pondering how the heck I would make a bucket helmet look cool!? I surely really wanted it to be a "slit-like eyepiece", in the end. And then, the current form.Takeuchi: I finished the design for the face with no trouble at all. I kept on thinking "This guy is so unlucky!" while drawing him.Urobuchi:I thought Lance would be more beautiful as a handsome man with a shady past than an unrestrained playboy.

Misc text:
In old times
Lancelot: Milord does not understand the hearts of others.
....
Arthur: Take it

Takeuchi's comment
Lancelot during the era of the Knights of the Round Table. I think you wouldn't know it because the picture was trimmed, but on the jacket of the PS2 Fate soundtrack, Lancelot is actually standing across from Bedivere. His expression, like he's being punished for doing something wrong, makes me tear up. [Takeuchi]

Misc text:
My lord...
Haaaaaaate...
Teardrop...

Takeuchi's comment
As Berserker. He's as different from his living form as an ibis is from an amoeba. [Takeuchi]

Sir Lancelot [Servant]
The "Knight of the Lake", famed as the strongest of the Knights of the Round Table.
His illicit love affair with Queen Guinevere drove Camelot down the road to ruin, tarnishing his legacy in the legends of King Arthur.
As he often fell into madness due to troubles involving Guinevere, he has a particular compatibility with the Berserker class. In a lot of ways, he's just a guy who pushed himself too hard.
He was born with numerous abilities and aptitudes that take him beyond the realm of "high-spec" right into "completely overpowered", and none of them were any help at all in solving his problems. But while I could sort of sympathize with him, at the same time I couldn't help but feel a little bit of black joy that so many terrible things happened to such a handsome and talented person. But then the girls in class just looked at me in disdain, like, "Eww, so jealous, gross!" while screaming in shrill voices about how cool Lance-sama is, and… ahem. Sorry, I'm getting off track here.
Anyway, if he and King Arthur had just been able to have an all-out brawl to satisfaction on a sandy beach under the evening sun, so many tragedies might have been avoided. Well, there's no guarantee, of course, but the fact remains that whatever else happened that was the one thing that Lancelot's nature never let him do. He even tried going insane to change that part about himself, but just ended up causing the way-too-serious Artoria to misunderstand a lot of things instead. Really, it makes me wonder if his origin is "being a nuisance" or something.

Kariya Matou
Berserker's Master.
Second oldest son of the Matou family, one of the three founding Mage familes.
Although his Magecraft aptitude was higher than his brother's, he hated the vile nature of the Matou family's magic. To save Sakura, the daughter of Aoi Tohsaka, he agrees to participate in the HolyGrail War. As a side effect of the Crest Worms, half his body is twisted and distorted. Atsushi Ikariya was in charge of the character design for the anime version.

Berserker
A mad knight Heroic Spirit who is clad in black armor. The "Berserk" affinity was added to him, as he is unable to speak, and he refuses to obey his Master's instruction. His abilities include For Someone's Else's Glory, which conceal his own abilities, and Knight of Honor, which allows him to turn anything into a Noble Phantasm. He demonstrates an unnatural fixation on Saber. Atsushi Ikariya was in charge of the character design for the anime version.

Worms
The Matou family uses Worms in their Magecraft. In combat, they can be summoned and employed at will. There are various kinds, including the flesh-eating Blade Wing Worms that Kariya employs, and the Crest Worms that crawl around the Worm Pit.

Zouken Matou
Head of the Matou family. After repeatedly extending his life, this Mage is already not quite human. He is well versed in all things related to the Holy Grail, and gives Kariya Crest Worms. He observes the proceedings of the Holy Grail War from a distance.

Comment
Berserker 3DCG Supervisor Masato Takizawa
With Berserker's movements, I tweaked things like warping the parts and altering the scale so that it wouldn't look like stiff CG animation. Although there were a ton of difficult areas over the course of the series, I believe that all the hard work really can be seen on the screen and made for better visuals. I think that shows like this that are so beloved by the audience comes around once in a blue moon, so it's a real honor to have given the opportunity to take part in it.

Lancelot
A knight of the Round Table who served Arthur (Artoria). He falls in love with King Arthur's wife, Guinevere, and this dishonor brings about the fall of Britain. Also, in the anime, he is drawn with keyframe animation after his face is revealed. Because his complex armor was bring drawn by hand, it involved huge amounts of time and effort.

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne [Servant]
The Lancer class Servant of the Fourth Holy Grail War, summoned by Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. A hero of the Fianna, spoken of in Irish mythology. The story of his tragic love affair with Grainne would later become the model for the story of Lancelot and Guinevere. It's no wonder that the Berserker of the Fourth Holy Grail War has such bad compatibility with him!
In battle, he wields two Noble Phantasms: the Crimson Rose of Exorcism (Gae Dearg) which temporarily nullifies the effects of magical energy, and the Yellow Rose of Mortality (Gae Buidhe) which inflicts cursed wounds that cannot be healed by any means.
His basic parameters are not particularly high, but he excels at using battle tactics designed to trip up enemies stronger than himself. In particular, he is the natural enemy of those Heroic Spirits which rely on the powers of their Noble Phantasms to fight. Depending on his strategy, it's even possible that he could have won the entire Fourth Holy Grail War (or suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of Assassin).
Out of all the Servants in the fourth war, he had the second-worst compatibility with his Master. Though, if his very first opponent had been anybody besides Saber, he might have been able to fight in a way more in line with his Master's expectations. For you see, it was Saber's serene beauty and grace which kindled the flames of chivalry within his heart. Also, while he was summoned as a Lancer this time, and therefore carried the twin demonic spears Gae Dearg and Gae Buidhe, his legends also speak of a pair of demonic swords: Moralltach and Beagalltach. So, there was actually a decent chance he could have been summoned as a Saber. Or rather, that's probably what Kayneth was hoping for…

About Berserker SideNasu: But, I was moved to tears by that last conversation with Lancelot. Nobody was at fault… Nobody was to blame!Urobuchi: I think that’s the most heartbreaking thing about it, though.Nasu: Ah, it really is.Urobuchi: The scene would have been totally ruined if Alexander had barged in, huh?Nasu: That’s Dead Weight Alex for you, lol
He’d start his lecture with something like “Well, be that as it may…”.Urobuchi: Sounds like something out of Hana no Keiji.Nasu: Then, “It’s all your fault!” “And also, it’s your fault too!”
“So, become my subordinates!”Urobuchi: That’s exactly what he’d say!Nasu: Of course, their response would be “What the hell is this guy going on about!?"Urobuchi: Right, it’d be a total negotiation failure.
'Nasu: And Alex would just tilt his head to the side and wonder, “Hmm, did things go poorly?”
Anyway, about Berserker’s ridiculous Noble Phantasm… were you aiming at “that” from the start? That… f i g h t e r j e t.Urobuchi: Yup! Basically, I really, really wanted to fight Gil with a fighter jet. I worked toward it with all my heart and soul!Nasu: We should call you Yagami Gen. ”Just as planned!”Urobuchi: I thought the Gate of Babylon would be perfect for an Itano Circus.Nasu: Whoosh! The swords are homing in! Ornamental swords, holy swords, demonic swords, shitty knockoff swords!Urobuchi: Especially that last one! That’s the heart of the Itano Theory.Nasu: Because they won’t hit!Urobuchi: Filling up the screen with missiles that won’t home properly is very important.Nasu: Right, right.Urobuchi: It truly is profound, the Itano Circus.Nasu: But, a motorcycle that flies through the sky is going too far!
Right? Is it really okay, including that Braiger kind of thing?Urobuchi: What? Of course it flies. Because it’s a motorcycle. Also, you’re thinking of Baxinger.Nasu: It can turn into a bazooka, too, right? It can do anything, this motorcycle. I bet it even turns into a battleship.Urobuchi: If it was Gil’s Noble Phantasm motorcycle that probably wouldn’t be too far off.Nasu: It’d be a suuuuper-awesome Itansha, lolUrobuchi: You know… it might be too extreme, but… what if we made it a Super Cub?Nasu: Ah, now THAT’S a Noble Phantasm. Definitely.
Takeuchi: A golden Super Cub.Nasu: I waaaant one!
It’s the very model of majesty and grace!Urobuchi: Gil making his appearance on that… it would be just like WWE SmackDown.Nasu: Circling the ring at 3 kph, lol
While the spectators go wild.Takeuchi: Ahh… I can almost see it, that armored figure straddling the bike.Nasu: Wow, everybody really loves Gil, huh?

IntroductionSpecial issue
Gen Urobuchi:
To give a specific example, allow me to explain Berserker's flashback scenes, which were probably the most heavily revised from the original. In the original novel, it is a scene that jumps to an entirely different time period that is inserted right in the middle of the duel at the end. It is precisely because the depiction of the fight had been placed in the back of the reader's mind as a concept that it was possible to depict and link this to his past as a separate narrative thread.

With that said, in the visual medium, because the audience takes in the battle in the underground garbage by means of sight and sounds, the scene has a sense of place which helps to make it seem as if they themselves are there. If the point of view were to suddenly shift to another time, another story, the tension that suffused that showdown scene would suddenly evaporate. Although humans can develop differing concepts in parallel, they can only focus on and process one view point at a time. If the anime version has ignored this difference and stayed slavishly true to the original novel and revealed Berserker's past in exactly the same way, the viewers probably would have felt a visceral sense of incongruity and instantly been thrown out of the moment.

The same goes for the flashback scene where Gilgamesh reminisces about Enkidu. In the novel, I took care to write it with deliberately vague, ambiguous imagery to depict Gilgamesh's flashback so as not to ruin the afterimage of Excalibur's activation scene that immediately preceded it. However, this sort of allowance isn't possible in visual media. Every scene is depicted with the same resolution and the same sense of presence as time unfolds at the same pace. So with that in mind, they had no choice but to place both the catharsis of Excalibur and the information dealing with Enkidu on the table and decide between. Of course, it was obviously the former that was more vital to the overall story.

Kariya Matou [Person's name]
The little brother of Matou Shinji's father, Byakuya.
The gutsiest, most rebellious person in the history of the Matou family – against that monstrous old man, just standing up to him and running away was a heroic act of valor. Of course, from Zouken's point of view, no matter how much better Kariya's magic circuits were than his older brother's, they weren't worth the effort it would take to break his will and train him into a proper family head. In fact, at that point he had probably already decided that he had no choice but to bet everything on Byakuya conceiving an heir that would turn everything around. Unfortunately, in the end his longshot gamble backfired spectacularly, and instead of a miracle that would save his lineage, he got Shinji.
By the way, even Kariya's childhood friendship with Aoi was set up by Zouken, who had become aware of the Zenjou family's excellent hereditary trait long before the Tohsaka. However, due to Kariya turning his back on sorcery and getting cockblocked by Tokiomi, the old man's plans once more came to nothing.
…Well, Kariya bringing his beloved Aoi back to some horrid worm pit was never going to happen in the first place. Maybe if the Matou sorcery was a little more normal, he would have been willing to obediently accept his inheritance and become Tokiomi's rival for Aoi's affections.
For a makeshift magus, Kariya's suitability as a Master was exceptional. The fact that he was able to endure the maddened Lancelot's outrageous magical energy consumption for as long as he did is a feat truly deserving of praise. While he might have been better off if Zouken hadn't punished him by forcing him to summon a Berserker, well… I hate to say it, but the only reason Lancelot was able to fight Gilgamesh as well as he did was due to the parameter boost from being maddened. And given the single-minded devotion with which Kariya was pursuing Tokiomi, there's no way you could expect him to have the prudence to avoid that powerhouse team and survive to the very end. When all's said and done, as long as he carried the Matou spirit of putting grudges before everything else, he was probably doomed to failure no matter what.